The 25th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team recorded it 11th straight 20-win season with an 87-83 victory over 12th-ranked Lewis University Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI raises its record to 20-5 overall and 14-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Lewis falls to 20-5 overall, 13-5 GLVC.

The Screaming Eagles have won 20 or more games 12 times in the last 14 seasons. The victory also marks the 11th straight season that the Eagles have won at least 14 games in the GLVC regular season.

The Eagles could be in sole procession or a tie for second place in the GLVC, depending upon the outcome of the University of Indianapolis game at Northern Kentucky University. If NKU wins, USI would be tied with NKU for second, but the Eagles would have the tie-breaker over the Norse.

In the first half this afternoon, the Flyers bolted out to a seven point lead, 10-3, with 15:59 to play before the Eagles got on track. The Eagles started to click offensively and eased past the Flyers at 22-20, going on to build a 36-24 lead with 3:10 left in the first half.

The Flyers erased part of that lead before the intermission and trailed the Eagles 36-30 at the half.

In the second half, the Eagles kept an eye over their shoulder but were never headed. The Flyer got to within one point on three different occasions, but could not get the lead.

USI sophomore guard Cris Brunson (Evansville, Indiana) led the way for the Eagles, scoring a game-high 20 points. He was 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point range, and a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.

He was joined by three other players in double-figure scoring. Junior forward/center Billy Harris (Carbondale, Illinois) followed Brunson with 16 points, while sophomore forward Dennis Coutee (Jeffersonville, Indiana) dropped in 14 points and junior guard Mike Arnold (Evansville, Indiana) added 11 points.

The Eagles will finish the 2002-03 regular season schedule on the road at Quincy University Thursday, February 27, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday, March 1. Game times next week are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 3:15 p.m. Saturday. The men's GLVC Tournament is scheduled for Thursday, March 6, through Saturday, March 8, at Roberts Stadium.